Ginger Fig Ice Cream

Whisk together heavy cream and milk in a medium saucepan. If using a vanilla bean, split the pod in half and scrape the seeds into the milk-cream mixture. Add the pod to the pot as well. Bring the pot almost to a simmer then turn off the heat. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes. Remove the pod and discard or save it to make vanilla sugar.

While mixture is resting, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt (if using vanilla extract instead of the pod stir it in here). After discarding pod, reheat the milk mixture until warm but not quite bubbling. Transfer one third of the milk mixture into the egg yolk-sugar bowl, whisking in a slow steady stream. Transfer the tempered egg yolks back to the pot on the stove. Whisk together.

Over a medium low flame, stir the custard in a figure eight pattern with a wooden spoon. When the mixture is thick enough to nicely coat the back of the spoon, immediately remove from heat. Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl place in an ice bath. Stir the custard until the ice bath cools the custard down to room temperature. Cover bowl and transfer to the refrigerator. Chill for at least two hours.

While custard is chilling, make fig compote. Remove stems from the figs. Cut figs in quarters and add to a small pot along with orange zest, orange juice, water, and ginger powder. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for about 30 minutes until figs collapse and the liquid thickens significantly. Remove from heat and stir in Grand Marnier. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill for two hours.

When custard is chilled, process according to ice cream machine directions. If eating immediately, serve ice cream as soft serve with the compote as a topping. If eating later, layer ice cream and fig compote in a plastic container. Freeze for 3-4 hours until solid.